BP (BP.) received a favourable ruling in the US Circuit Court of Appeals in its bid to avoid payments to civil claimants whose losses were not traceable to the 2010 Macondo oil spill. The win on appeal overturns an earlier ruling by US District Judge Carl Barbier that effectively backed the evaluation methods employed by settlement administrator Patrick Juneau in relation to the civil claims.
The energy giant has also received the support of the American Petroleum Institute and the US Chamber of Commerce, both of which have been critical of the US Environmental Protection Agency's handling of the affair, particularly with regard to the ban imposed on BP from acquiring new leases in the Gulf of Mexico or entering into supply deals with the US military.
